Theory of Multiple Scattering Enhanced Single Particle Plasmonic Sensing

TL;DR

This paper explores how multiple scattering in a random environment can significantly enhance the sensitivity of single particle plasmonic sensors, with an optimal scatterer density maximizing the effect.

Contribution

It introduces three enhancement factors to quantify multiple scattering effects and demonstrates an optimal scatterer density for maximum sensitivity enhancement.

Findings

Enhancement factors can reach around 100 times.

Optimal scatterer density exists for maximum sensitivity.

Dependence of enhancement on scatterer properties is characterized.

Abstract

Methods to increase the light scattered from small particles can help improve the sensitivity of many sensing techniques. Here, we investigate the role multiple scattering plays in perturbing the scattered signal when a particle is added to a random scattering environment. Three enhancement factors, parametrising the effect of different classes of multiple scattering trajectories on the field perturbation, are introduced and their mean amplitudes explored numerically in the context of surface plasmon polariton scattering. We demonstrate that there exists an optimum scatterer density at which the sensitivity enhancement is maximised, with factors on the order of $10^2$ achievable. Dependence of the enhancement factors on scatterer properties are also studied.